


Sunshine & Shadow - Origins of Ladybug and Chaton Noir

by PersonaBreaker



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Tad More Realistic Than The Show, Alternate Universe, Art in Chapter 3!, But Disbelief Can Still Be Suspended, But Later Stories Will Diverge, Cat Noir!Rose, Follows The General Premise of the Show, Gen, Introspection, Kwami Swap, Ladybug!Juleka, Moral Dilemmas, No Romance, Self-Doubt, Strong Language, at least for now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-25 15:25:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14980040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PersonaBreaker/pseuds/PersonaBreaker
Summary: Juleka Couffaine and Rose Lavillant were perfect for each other.Where one had weaknesses, the other happily made up for it. When one was upset, the other pushed aside everything and made consoling them their top priority. When one was in trouble, the other made it a point to always have their back.They were practically made for each other, and seemed to have a hidden determination within them.Which was probably why Master Fu decided to grant them the power of the Miraculous.





	1. Accidental Heroes

The vibrating of her phone pulled her from a peaceful rest, and immediately her day was ruined.

Keeping her eyes shut for as long as she could, Juleka slowly reached under her pillow and gripped her phone, pulling the charger out of it and stopping the alarm with a press of her thumb.

Satisfied and still irritated, she dropped her head back to her pillow, fully intending on falling right back to sleep.

...

“Juleka.”

Or at least, she would have.

Grumpily opening an eye, she glared at her brother, who was already awake, fully dressed, and meditating on his bed. With both eyes closed. With the _smuggest_ smile on his face.

...Or maybe Juleka was just cranky. Whatever.

With a hefty groan, she pushed herself off the bed and rubbed her tired eyes. She let out a yawn, stifled it when she heard Luka chuckle, and slowly made her way to their bathroom.

It was the first day of a new school year. She really should have prepared better than this, but the dread of having to go _again_ just kept her up far too late the previous night.

Another crappy year with crappy lessons.

Another crappy year with crappy photo days.

Another crappy year with crappy _Chloé_.

Juleka huffed as she examined herself in the mirror, pulling at the bags under her eyes. Maybe she really should have stayed home and have Mom homeschool her, like with Luka. He never had to deal with any of this shit. He always seemed to have it good.

The idea was… tempting, to say the least. Her mother would be more than willing to teach her if she had asked, and Luka would be thrilled to have a study partner. Juleka would admit to having this line of thought frequently, even more so on the first day of each school year.

However, each and every first day of each and every school year, she always chose to go back. And the answer for that was simple:

She’d get to see Rose every day.

It was never a hard decision in the end.

She finished in the shower, her monster-sized bedhead expertly washed and brushed into something much more presentable, and exited to find two plates of breakfast sitting at the bar, her mother leaning across from the other side with her trademark grin.

“Morning, Maman,” Juleka greeted upon sitting down.

“Good morning, my dear,” her mother said, overly loud and cheerful as always. It was, at the very least, the last bit of waking up she needed. “You look chipper as always.” Juleka rolled her eyes. “Did you get enough sleep?”

 _Not really_. “Yes.”

Her mother let out a laugh, and Juleka knew she didn’t buy it. She shrugged and started cutting her crepes.

Then her mother seemed to examine her closely. She blinked at her stare, but Juleka tried to ignore it like she always did. “Let me guess. You're worried about Chloé again, aren't you?”

Leave it to moms to always know what was up. Juleka sighed and played with her food as she spoke. “I'm pretty sure everyone’s worried they'll be in her class.”

Her mother nodded in understanding. “That girl is a real pain in the arse, ain’t she?”

“You can say that again,” Juleka mumbled between bites. Honestly it wouldn’t surprise her if her mom despised Chloé as much as she did, based on how often she got the chance to relay every bit of Chloé-related bullshit she witnessed and heard.

Now, that wasn’t to say Chloé specifically targeted _her_ or anything, but she antagonized _everyone_ like it was going out of style. Juleka always managed to hide in the back of the class every year and stay out of the girl’s sight, but it was that they were being bullied in the first place that made her so agitated. Juleka honestly wanted to help comfort the others, just like she’d comfort Rose if something happened, but… she just couldn't muster the strength to do so.

Especially if Chloé would target her because of it. She knew she wouldn’t last long if that happened.

Her mother huffed, but gave a warm smile nonetheless. “Eh, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Just remember-”

“If she tries anything with me, sock her in the face,” Juleka interrupted with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, I remember.”

Her mom grinned and ruffled her hair, eliciting more laughter from Juleka. “'Atta girl.”

The bell rang from up above, and Juleka could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps. She couldn’t hide the grin on her face.

“There she is,” her mother mused. She cupped her hands over her mouth. “Come on down, Rose, dear!”

Juleka winced, but brushed it off as a few moments later Rose trotted down the stairs with a smile on her face and a cake in her hands.

“Good morning Juleka!” she greeted cheerfully. “Good morning, Anarka!”

“Hey Rose,” Juleka answered for the both of them.

With a glance to the back of the room, Rose shouted, “Good morning, Luka!”

“Morning, Rose,” came a much quieter but amused reply.

“Oh, is that the cake Juleka mentioned yesterday?” her mom asked her friend, walking closer to the dessert as Rose placed it on the counter.

“Yep!” she answered and clasped her hands beneath her chin. “I made it last night with Maman! It’s chocolate _and_ vanilla and I’m going to offer our new classmates a slice!”

“Hmhm, I can’t wait to try some myself,” Juleka said. “But I guess for now I’ll settle for breakfast.”

“Ah, yes yes, Rose, come sit and enjoy some breakfast before school begins!” Juleka’s mother patted the bar next to the second plate crepes, urging her to eat.

“That sounds wonderful!” Rose cheered, but then jumped and quickly gave a mock salute. “I mean, aye-aye, Captain!” Her mom laughed heartily as Rose scurried around Juleka to sit down, immediately digging into her meal. She squealed in delight at the first taste. “Oh, Anarka, these are good! Ah, as always!”

“I’m glad to hear that, sailor,” she replied, sending a wink her way. Juleka smiled at the two of them and silently continued her own crepes.

They talked excitedly (Rose did, Juleka was much calmer) for the next few minutes, about classes and recent events and the cute dogs Rose saw and the pesky pigeons she fended off on the way over. Rose also mentioned that she was worried the cake wasn’t going to be as good as the macarons Marinette had said she’d be bringing to class as well. Juleka reminded her it wasn’t a competition and that she was positive everyone would enjoy it. Rose accepted the comfort with a wide and hopeful smile.

Just as they finished breakfast, it was time to go. Juleka grabbed their bags and Rose grabbed her cake, and with a goodbye to her mom and Luka the two left the houseboat and began the trek to Collège Francoise Dupont.

It wasn’t a very far walk, but it offered a longer chance for the two to talk. Juleka spoke about her dread on probably being in the same class as Chloé again, but Rose promised her that she’d be there for support no matter what happened.

“Even if I punch Chloé in the face?” Juleka asked with a smirk.

“In that case I’d tell you to go for it again,” Rose replied with an innocent grin.

As they continued walking and talking, Juleka moved out of the way of a group of kids who were running in the opposite direction. Normally she’d just let them go on without any mind, but her head trailed back to watch them excitedly race each other to whatever school they were going to.

...And because of her paying attention, she also bore witness when one of the kids accidentally hit an older gentleman by the edge of the seine.

Juleka stopped in her tracks, watching the older man try to regain his balance, but nearly screamed when he fell off and just barely managed to grab the edge.

“Oh my god!” Rose shouted in fear, turning back when Juleka had stopped. Juleka remained silent, but was panicking nonetheless. The seine was, in all honesty, the last place anyone would want to end up in. It wasn’t the cleanest place to take a swim, and the chances of becoming sick were pretty high, especially for an older man.

It was just her luck too that the other people nearby did nothing to help him.

_Damn bystander syndrome._

Without another thought, Juleka dropped both bags to the ground and dashed over to help the man.

Rose was startled by her friend’s sudden run, and was just about to help as well. But she looked down at the cake in her hands and knew she would be of no help if her hands were full. She didn’t want to run with it, of course, so she desperately looked around to find somewhere to lay it down. But she saw that there was nowhere she could put it _and_ keep it away from the pigeons. And the few people she tried asking to watch it were either too distracted by their phones or simply ignored her anyway. Seeing no other solution, and lamenting not taking a cover for it, Rose dejectedly placed it on the ground next to the bags and ran after Juleka.

She watched as her friend practically slid along the ground to get to the man and grab his arm. “I’ve got you,” she said to him, and looked back to Rose for assistance. Rose ran to the other side and grabbed his arm as well, and with a few ‘Heave, _ho!_ ’s they brought the man back up to solid land.

When they were a good distance away from the river, Rose noticed that the man was panting in shock, but otherwise looked fine. He turned to her and smiled in that kind-old-person smile, but Rose was a worrywart at heart and started fussing.

“Are you alright sir?” Rose quickly asked, her hands hovering in front of her in case the man decided to fall off again. “You’re not hurt, are you? No cuts or bruises? Any broken bones?”

The man chuckled and beamed at her. “I am quite alright, thanks to you two.” He turned to Juleka, who was still sitting on the ground. “That was very heroic, what you both did. I owe you my gratitude, and my health as well!”

Juleka blushed at that and tried to brush the hair out of her eye. “I-It was nothing. Anyone could have done that.”

“Ah, but it was you two that did, and that is worthy of praise indeed.” The old man continued to smile and it took Juleka all of her willpower to not hide behind her hands.

Helping the man to his feet, Rose grinned at Juleka and Juleka smiled back, proud at what they had done. But then Rose looked past Juleka and her look of elation fell immediately.

“ _Oh no, the cake!_ ” she squealed, and took off back to their bags, the cake, and the pigeons that had already assembled on top of it.

Rose started waving her arms to shoo the birds away, and they all immediately left when she arrived. But just as feared, it was too late - the cake had already been partially eaten by the birds, and… well, regardless of how much was left, it was inedible now that they had gotten their dirty feet all over it. Rose sighed at her ruined gift to her class, but… found she wasn’t devastated over it.

“I’m very sorry, miss,” the man said, having walked over with Juleka. “If it’s any consolation, it looked delicious.”

Rose gave him a sad smile. “Thank you. And… no, it’s okay. I would have dropped it anyway if anyone else had been in trouble.” She picked up the remains of the cake and shook her head. “Besides, I can just make another one for... tomorrow!” She gasped. “No one’s going to celebrate the _second_ day of school! I can surprise everyone with another cake then!”

Juleka chuckled at her friend’s ability to find the good in any situation, and the older gentlemen did the same. “That’s a great idea, Rose,” she said, moving to grab their bags still on the ground. “But we should probably, you know, actually go to the first day too.”

“Oh my gosh, Juleka, I almost completely forgot.” Rose quickly found a bounce in her step and started walking along the seine again at a quicker pace. “Goodbye, sir! Be safe on your day out!” Juleka gave him a small wave in place of a response.

The man gave a wave in return. “The same to you. And thank you again!”

After the girls turned their backs and continued on their way, Master Fu grinned and stood with a straight back, placing his cane on his shoulder and a hand to his beard.

“Juleka and Rose, hm...?” he said in thought. He felt his friend shift in his pocket, expressing his concern without making a peep. Master Fu chuckled once more and confidently turned around, heading to the boathouse he saw them exit from as he whistled happily to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on a Miraculous story for the past few months now, and decided it was time to finally put it up. It might be a little slow starting off but I assure you the chapters will be longer and more involved. I'm very excited to show you all what I've got in store! Thanks for reading!


	2. First Days of School are Weird

****“Guess we really _do_ have to put up with Chloé for another year,” Juleka sighed with her head in her hands as she watched the scene play out before her. Poor Marinette was being pestered by Chloé and Sabrina right out of the gate, trying to force her out of the seat she had claimed since the first year they were in Miss Bustier’s class. “She’s just so… _evil_.”

“Yeah, you can say that again,” Rose said sadly. She looked up to Juleka with a small smile. “But, since we’re up here again, maybe we won’t get much notice?”

Juleka smiled back. Rose could read her like an open book. “Yeah. That’d be for the best.” She could definitely deal with staying under the radar most of the time for another year. “Kinda wish I could help, though.”

Rose nodded. “I know what you mean. But… it’s hard getting through to someone like Chloé unscathed.”

“Yeah.” She gave her friendly acquaintance a silent apology and hoped for the best. She then winced as Marinette tripped down the stairs as the new girl literally dragged her away from Chloé, and sighed as the macarons she had for everyone fell all over the floor in a pale-yellow mess. “Yikes.”

“First days of school are always the worst,” Rose said in pained sympathy.

“Sorry about the cake, by the way,” Juleka mentioned, glancing over to her friend. “We should have brought a cover, or something.”

Rose smiled but waved her hand. “No, it’s okay. If I had to choose between a cake and helping a poor old man from falling into the seine, I’d choose the latter any day.”

Juleka felt herself beam at her friend and ruffled her hair affectionately. “Always thinking of others before yourself, aren’t you.”

Grabbing her hand and holding it affectionately, Rose grinned. “Of course!”

Class was in session shortly after, and from roll call the two found out the name of the new girl (Alya Césaire, apparently) and that there was supposed to be _another_ new student, but for whatever reason he didn’t show up. The girls shrugged, and continued with Miss Bustier’s daily ritual of giving each other compliments (which was not unknown territory for either of them).

When their literature class had finished up, they were forced to split due to their schedules, with Rose going out to the Parc de Princes stadium for phys ed and Juleka staying in the library for the period as the art teacher was still on vacation. They weren’t happy that they had to go their separate ways so early, of course, but it was all they could do.

Rose collected her belongings and started for the door, when she noticed Kim pass a note to Ivan across the aisle. Curiosity getting the better of her, she tried to read the note by leaning forward but could only make out a few crude drawings.

Ivan’s negative reaction spoke a thousand words on its contents, however.

“ _Kim!_ ” he growled, raising a fist dangerously at the jock. Kim backed away a bit but his grin held firm. Which was… typical for Kim.

As Miss Bustier settled the matter, Rose quickly darted away to avoid being brought into it. She really should have seen something like that coming, but what could she do? She was just one small girl and they were two very large guys - Miss Bustier had the situation under control, either way.

“So much bullying and it isn’t even lunchtime yet,” she mumbled to herself, following the others to the front of the school. “I hope Ivan will be alright.”

“He should be fine,” a voice said, and Rose looked to her right to see Alix walking alongside her, hands nonchalantly in her pockets. “Guy’s built like a fortress and tough as one too. I wouldn’t be worried about him.”

Rose considered her words and conceded. She couldn’t remember a time Ivan had been so mad, but she hoped that it would be resolved peacefully soon.

They waited outside with Mr. D’Argencourt as the other PE students - Nino, Max, and Kim himself (still with his cocky smirk) - eventually made their way down the front steps. Ivan was meant to be with them as well, but wouldn’t be joining them since Miss Bustier sent him straight to the principal.

“Mocking him _and_ sending him to the office?” Nino asked with an unamused glare. “That’s low, dude.”

“I-I agree,” Rose said, thankful someone had said it first. “You should apologise, you know.”

Kim scoffed and slung his bag over one shoulder. “Not until he mans up and asks Mylène out. He’s been falling so hard he’s reached rock bottom and still going! It’s about time he did something about that, you know?”

Rose frowned at his explanation - okay, maybe it was _super romantic_ that Ivan was crushing hard on Mylène and _ohmygosh they would be so cute together_ , but Kim’s method of trying to get them together was really mean and probably counterproductive.

She was halfway to wondering if she’d be able to do a better job when Mr. D’Argencourt started leading them off towards the stadium for class.

Smiling to herself, Rose felt the resolve form within her. _This just means I have more time to think of ways to pair them up!_

Shortly after parting with Rose, Juleka found herself plopping down at a small table in the library, out of sight from most of the room and allowing her some quiet time. Study hall was really only properly used when a test was coming up, so on the first day when a class wouldn’t go ahead, not many students were _actually_ studying. Juleka pulled out her headphones and began listening to music as she scrolled through her phone, absorbing information half-heartedly.

As she did she felt her mind wandering. Could… she have done something about Ivan and Kim? And Marinette as well? Like she had helped that old man before? It was… a very good feeling, to help him out, even if it had just been pure chance that she and Rose were around. But she had also been there, when Kim upset Ivan, and when Chloé picked on Marinette, and she had chose not to do anything about it.

Juleka tried to tell herself that she had no way of helping, that Kim would just laugh at her and Chloé would start insulting _her_ , but it didn’t make her feel any less guilty for not doing anything. If she had the courage to stand up to assholes like them, then maybe…

Well. She wouldn't worry about that right now. They'll get over it soon enough. ...Hopefully.

Her mind continued to wander as she scrolled through her feed. _I wonder what's for lunch? Maman said she was taking Luka out to pick up food, so does that mean fast food or cooked food? Doesn't matter I guess, I'm starting to get hungry again. Maybe Rose would like to come over... I wonder how she is anyway? She should have arrived at the stadium by now. Still can't believe she decided to take gym this year. After what happened last year no way am I ever taking another PE class. I'll be fine_ not _being in shape thank you very m-_

A _BANG_ and a _CRASH_ and what felt like an _earthquake_ later and Juleka was sent to the floor with a yelp.

Propped up by her arms, she looked around the library in a panic. Books were flying off the shelves like crazy, students were running out of the room and tripping up over themselves in a mad flurry of limbs, and Juleka felt the floor shaking in a rhythm that felt like… footsteps, almost.

Then a second _CRASH_ , and a second _BANG_ sounded out, and the footsteps became softer, though still enough to shake the very earth.

Shaking her head out of her stupor, Juleka hastily grabbed her phone and bag off the ground and ran for the door, only to stop and stare at the library’s monitor with a handful of other students. The sight of what was on the cameras nearly caused her to drop her belongings.

Stepping forward to get a better look, Juleka watched as what she could only describe as a giant stone  _monster_ began walking away from the school, each step it took leaving a crack in the ground. A car had stopped right next to it and the driver and passenger ran away in terror, just as the monster roared something and threw the car back at the school, cutting off the feed.

To Juleka, the roar sounded like a name. And being the observant wallflower that she was, Juleka recognized the deranged voice instantly.

She put two and two together and felt herself go pale.

“Ivan…?” she asked aloud. 

“Y-You heard it too, right?” Juleka glanced to her right and noticed that Marinette and Alya were standing right next to her, the former wide-eyed and terrified and the latter wide-eyed and _astounded_.

“Yeah…” Juleka nodded numbly, still trying to process what she just saw. “What… _was_ that?”

“What _was_ that?!” Alya suddenly said, whirling on the two with eyes lit up. “That was obviously a _supervillain_ ! Paris is being attacked right now and that is _so awesome!_ ”

Juleka blinked and looked back to the screen, still on but playing nothing. “I mean… Yeah, sure, it kinda is, but that was _Ivan’s_ voice, right?”

“Right!” Marinette agreed and nodded her head. “Is he okay?! What happened to him?”

“I’m not really sure,” Alya said as she adjusted her glasses. “But I know I’m not going to stand around _here_ waiting for a hero to come.” And with a quick glance at her phone she started for the door.

“Wait, what?!” Marinette called out. “What are you talking about?”

“Superheroes, girl!” Alya said excitedly as she turned back. “Where there’s a villain, there’s always a hero around the corner! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I’m not letting it slip through my fingers! Later!”

She immediately left without a word, leaving Juleka and Marinette amidst a host of confused and scared students.

“Will she be okay?” Juleka asked idly.

“I… have no idea,” Marinette replied honestly.

The teacher who had been monitoring the library came up to their group and began quickly ushering them out of the school, urging them to return to their homes out of fear that the monster - _Ivan_ \- might return. When they reached the front steps, Juleka noticed that the cracks in the ground turned to the right, going past Marinette’s parents’ bakery and further on down the street.

_Towards the Parc de Princes_ , he mind helpfully supplied.

“Shit,” she murmured. “Shit shit shit shit, I need to call Rose.”

Marinette looked at her and blanched. “Oh no. If that really _was_ Ivan, he could be going after Kim!”

Juleka inhaled sharply. Shit _shit shit shit shit shit shit._ That just made Juleka press her phone’s screen even faster. She brought it to her ear and waited, and waited, and waited, but after an agonizing thirty seconds she was brought to voicemail. Of _course_ Rose would have her phone put away, she was too good like that.

“We need to warn them, we need someone to call Mr. D’Argencourt,” Juleka found herself saying, and turned back towards the school-

And right into the chest of Miss Bustier.

“Juleka?” she asked, worry etched into her face. “You should be going home, not back inside. Is…” She noticed the anxiousness in her student’s eyes and saw more than just the fear of the monster. “Is everything okay, dear?”

“I-,” Juleka stammered. “I-I think the monster might be going to the stadium.”

“The stadium? Why would that be?” Miss Bustier asked with a tilt of her head. She wasn't dismissing the thought, thankfully.

“M-Marinette and I,” she glanced back down to her friend, “we think the… the _monster_ might be Ivan. And that he’s going after Kim.”

“What?” her teacher replied. “Ivan? I don’t think that-” she blinked, obviously thinking back. “But that- N-No, that can’t be. I-”

“Please, Miss Bustier, they need to be warned,” Marinette suddenly said, rushing up to stand with Juleka. She nodded her head in agreement.

“W-Well, regardless of who it is, yes, they do need to be warned,” their teacher conceded, and Juleka felt a wave of relief hit her. “I’ll speak with Principal Damocles about this; he has all of the staff’s phone numbers recorded.” She looked down at them concern. “In the meantime, please, you two need to go home!” she said, using that Teacher Voice that meant she was _not_ taking ‘no’ for an answer.

“Okay,” Marinette said, and turned around. “Get home safe, Juleka.”

“Thanks,” she nodded. She turned back to her teacher. “Please make sure the principal actually calls them, I don’t want Rose… _anyone_ getting hurt…”

Miss Bustier smiled in understanding and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Of course, Juleka. Now, go on home. And make sure you don’t stop until you’re there.”

Juleka nodded and took off down the road without another thought.

Rose pushed, and strained, and sweated, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn’t go on. She fell to the grass, flipped to her back and inhaled in some much needed oxygen.

“P-Please,” she said weakly, raising a hand up into the air, “I-I can’t go on.”

“Oh, Rose,” Alix replied, kneeling down to her and clutching her hand. “Don’t say that! You have so much to live for!”

“I’m sorry,” Rose said with a shake of her head. “This is the end for me… P-Please… t-tell…”

“Tell who what?” Alix said, a look of pleading in her eyes. “Please, Rose, tell me!”

“T-Tell Juleka I ate her ice cream in 4th grade by mistake… It was my greatest…  failure...” Rose whispered, and promptly dropped her head to the side.

“Nooooo!” Alix cried out in agony, “Rose! She was so young! So innocent!” She put her head in her hands and started wailing.

Becoming too difficult to keep a straight face, Rose and Alix immediately burst out laughing, causing the others to stop their workouts and do so as well.

“You actually want me to tell her that?” Alix asked between breaths.

“I’d rather you didn’t, I don't want to crush her,” Rose replied sweetly.

“Alright, alright, enough!” Mr. D’Argencourt called from in front of them. Alix immediately stood up and Rose pulled herself up, her arm muscles still protesting against being used. “Jokes can wait until _after_ we are done with the class. Finish up with your pushups and take a break, after which we will proceed with running laps around the designated track.”

Groans came from the students, but everyone managed to eventually finish their workout. As they trekked back to the benches to grab some water, Max pulled out his phone and began typing.

“Still looking for that old game?” Kim asked casually. “Isn’t it like, impossible to find nowadays?”

“That is true, however I believe I may have a lead on someone willing to sell it,” Max replied, thumbs expertly flying over the screen. Rose noticed that just as he was about to press something, his phone buzzed and he froze, scrunched his eyes, and pressed the new notification that had popped up.

“What is it?” she asked as she took a sip from her water.

“Um,” he blinked at the screen, then turned his phone for everyone to see. “What… do you all make of this?”

Rose squinted and had to fight to keep her view of the phone over the others, but she saw that whatever it was, it was posted to the school forum. And it sort of looked like… a statue? Or something? Something very obviously made of rock. A costume maybe? Near the school? _Oh, is there a Halloween party coming up?! Though it is only September… And wouldn't I have heard about it by now?_

“Looks to me like a B-movie monster or something,” Nino commented with a quirked brow.

“It could very well be,” Max nodded. “However… the reports…”

Rose quickly looked at the text that was beneath the picture and scanned it. Her eyes widened when she picked up the words _‘broke down doors’_ and _‘destroyed the window’_ and _‘throwing cars’_.

“W-Wait, wait wait, hold up,” Alix said with an incredulous look. “You’re saying this is real? Like, the not-fake sort of real? ...Seriously?”

“I can’t say for certain, I quite literally just saw this myself,” Max replied. He took the phone back and scrolled a bit more. “But there are _several_ students commenting on this post about how they _saw_ this monster rampaging through the school. It sounds preposterous but with so many eyewitness accounts-” He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the screen.

“What? What is it?” Kim asked him, looking between his friend and the phone.

Max turned to him with dread on his face. “I… I believe it’s coming _this way_.”

No one spoke for a solid ten seconds, at which point they all started panicking.

“You’re pulling my leg right?” Kim asked, looking completely lost but forcing a laugh. “This is just some prank you’re pulling right?”

“I don’t _do_ practical jokes, you know this,” Max replied, eyes glued to the phone.

“This is just crazy though. No way this is real. I don’t believe it.” Alix said, shaking her head and arms fervently. “This is something the city’s trying to pull, I bet. A publicity stunt or something.”

“But the posts said it broke through the school wall!” Rose told her. “That’s not something the city would do during  _class_!” Alix looked at her helplessly and ran her hands through her hair, but didn’t reply.

“You’ve just- you _gotta_ be kidding me,” Nino said, face pale and walking backwards. “Why this way? Why not any other way?”

“I don’t know!” Max said to him, voice rising several octaves. “A few students commented that it was heading in this direction! T-Though I guess that doesn’t necessarily _mean_ it’s heading for the stadium itself… Regardless, we should remain calm and-”

“Children!” Mr. D’Argencourt was suddenly running to their group, his phone in his hand and a grief-stricken look on his face. “The principal just called me. We need to get to somewhere safe!”

The students turned to each other in shock. “Is this about the monster?” Alix asked immediately, stepping forward. “Is it actually coming this way?”

“How-” The teacher looked to Max’s phone and sighed. “Of _course_ you had it with you during class. Yes, the monster does indeed appear to be heading in this direction. We need to seek some sort of refuge, on the double!”

“Ah, Mr. D’Argencourt, sir,” Max said with a raised hand. “I actually live not too far away from here, and in the opposite direction of the beast’s path. Would it be possible for me to find shelter at home?”

“Oh, me too, I live a few blocks from here, actually,” Nino also commented.

“Um, me three,” Rose added, raising a hand of her own. She relayed her address and watched as Mr. D’Argencourt ran a hand over his face.

“And what of you two? Do you wish to run through the streets with a monster loose in it?”

Both Alix and Kim shook their heads. “Nuh-uh. I live on the _other_ side of the school. I’d much rather stay here, thank you very much,” Alix said.

“Yeah, what she said,” Kim added.

Mr. D’Argencourt thought it over and sighed once more. He turned to Rose and the others. “I’d _much_ rather keep you here under my care, but I’ve been told that the monster is moving at a slow enough pace that you should make it home if you are indeed telling the truth.”

“Why on earth would anyone sane try to get close to something like that anyway?” Nino asked with folded arms.

He nodded at him. “Make any necessary phone calls to ensure your families and friends are safe. You two,” he said to Alix and Kim, “are to do the same while following me to a shelter under the stadium. It’s meant for emergencies only and as ridiculous as it sounds, I daresay this is an emergency indeed.”

With a wave of his hands the students quickly packed their bags and let their parents and friends know what was going on, and made for their destinations. Alix, Kim, and Mr. D’Argencourt saw them off, mostly to ensure they were _actually_ heading in the opposite direction. Max quickly ended up splitting off from Rose and Nino, and the two made their way down the streets of Paris. News had started spreading about the supposed monster, and though there were fewer pedestrians walking about they were all in a panic as they tried to get to their destinations.

“This is fucking crazy,” Nino said, moving out of the way as a mother and her child rushed past them. “If all these people are trying to get home then it has to be real, huh?”

“It’s so hard to believe but I guess so?” Rose replied, rubbing her hands together nervously. “But… why is it here anyway? What’s going on?”

“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? We just don’t _know_.” They walked in silence for a few more moments, avoiding the larger crowds of people as much as possible. Nino suddenly huffed out a dry laugh. “This totally feels like some monster movie or something, y’know? Like Godzilla’s wrecking the city and we’re all in danger and stuff…” He paused for a moment and grinned. “Actually saying it out loud makes it sound pretty cool.”

“Oh god, I hope it’s not like that,” Rose said. “So many people die in those movies…” Nino’s face fell at that thought. “Let’s hope everyone makes it home and stays out of its way.”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Nino reassured, patting a hand on Rose’s shoulder. She only smiled and nodded in hopeful agreement.

The two continued their walk home, and before long they ended up splitting at an intersection. Now that she was alone, Rose took out her phone and put her entire attention into one last phone call.

“ _Rose_ ,” Juleka answered even before the first ring went completely through. “ _Oh god, Rose, you’re okay_.”

“Yes! I’m fine! Oh Juleka, we saw the stone giant thing on the school forum and Principal Damocles warned Mr. D’Argencourt and me and Nino and Max all went home but Mr. D’Argencourt and Alix and Kim are still at the stadium and oh god just thinking about it, it’s so scary, how many people are hurt because of that thing, what's it even doing here, just what  _is_ it-"

“ _Rose!_ ” Juleka’s voice cut through her own, stopping her mid-sentence. “ _Breathe. You’re okay, you’re not hurt. And besides flipping a few cars I-I don’t think he’s done much damage._ ”

“Okay,” Rose breathed. “Okay that’s go- Wait, 'he'? What-What makes you say that?”

“ _Oh, um,_ ” Juleka paused. “ _I… Marinette and I had reason to believe that the monster is… is Ivan. Somehow. I don’t know how._ ”

“Ivan?!” Rose shouted, gaining the attention of the two other people quickly walking down the street, but she paid them no mind. “How do you know?!”

“ _I just said, I don’t,_ ” Juleka replied. “ _It sounded like it had Ivan’s voice and called out for Kim before it left and-_ ” She paused. “ _You… You said Kim stayed at the stadium, didn’t you._ ”

“Yes, I di-” Rose realized what that meant. “Oh dear.”

“ _They’re in trouble,_ ” Juleka said, letting out a breath. “ _Shit_.”

“Juleka, I…” Rose moaned and ran a hand through her hair. "I'm going to call him. I'll call you right back."

" _Wh- Rose-_ "

"I won't be long," she said. She quickly hung up on Juleka, dialed Kim's number, and groaned in worry when it went immediately to voice mail. "Ohh, he must be talking to someone right now." She instead started hastily typing up a text, just as she turned down her street. By the time she reached her house she sent the message, hoping that he'd see it soon.

Climbing the front steps, Rose quickly called her friend back. " _Any luck?_ " Juleka asked immediately upon answering.

"No, I couldn't get through to him. I sent him a text instead."

" _Well I guess that's all you can do at this point..._ "

Rose unlocked her front door and quickly headed inside. "I hope they stay safe. I don't want anything happening to any of them." Her parents were both at work, so after she locked the door back up she made a beeline for her room and turned on the TV to watch the news.

Back at her boathouse, Juleka had done the same with her laptop, watching a live feed of the news on its website. According to the news the monster was indeed walking in the direction of the 16th arrondissement, but the police, headed by Mr. Raincomprix, had already put up barricades to halt its progress.

Juleka watched in horror (and also fascination, because honestly away from the danger this was kinda cool in a weird way) as the shots fired by the police seemed to be _absorbed_ by the rock monster and caused it to _actually get bigger in size_ . It effortlessly flipped a police van and almost _crushed_ Mr. Raincomprix, but he managed to miraculously move away in time.

Just... what had Ivan become?

“I know,” Juleka told her friend over the phone. “But… this is _nuts_.”

“ _More than nuts, it’s terrifying!”_ Rose told her. “ _We’ll just have to pray that the others are- Ah..._ ”

Rose paused suddenly, and Juleka found her attention drifting away from her screen. “Rose? What's wro-” she started, turning her head to glance at her phone, before her eyes landed on something that shouldn’t have been there.

Just barely registering her friend's question, Rose stared at something weird and standing out like a sore thumb in her room.

Sitting on the desks in front of them, almost like it had always been there but was completely out of place, was an oddly-colored hexagonal box.

Without either dropping the phone, both idly asked:

_“What’s this doing here?”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And chapter 2! Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Of Kwamis and Akuma

“Hm? Did you say something?” Rose asked first, eyes not leaving the wooden box and the entire monster catastrophe leaving her mind.

“ _ Oh, uh, _ ” Juleka stammered. “ _ I just… there’s this weird jewelry box-looking thing on my desk. Somehow. I think maybe Luka bought me something? Even though he’s… not home... _ ”

“Wait, really?” Rose asked, hesitantly reaching out to pick up her own box. “Because I have something really similar to that, on my own desk.”

“... _ What? _ ”

“I… I don’t know! It’s just…  _ here _ . I’ve never seen anything like this before. I don’t know  _ how _ it got here. "

“ _T_ _ his is... weird _ .”

Rose looked the box over in her hand, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “Yeah, for real. I wonder what’s in it…?”

“Huh,” Juleka said, cocking an eyebrow at the offending intruder. Truthfully she hadn't even considered what the box was hiding. She put her shoulder to her phone and casually flipped it open, seeing for a split second something round and red.

Rose did the same, putting her phone on speaker before opening hers, and for a very brief moment saw something round and black.

Then something round and  _ bright _ burst from both boxes.

Both girls screamed at them.

Juleka felt her phone slip from her shoulders, but she quickly managed to catch it before turning back to the orb.

Rose wheeled her chair back so far it hit her bed and she nearly fell off, but caught herself looked back up.

The orbs continued to glow for a few seconds longer, entrancing both girls in its light, before starting to dull. They saw within the orbs small, humanoid-looking shapes but were unable to tell anything more than that. Slowly, the balls of light disappeared entirely, and in its place were…

“What the… A bug?” Juleka quietly asked out loud, squinting at the small red creature in front of her.

“Um,” Rose murmured, looking at the little black critter before her with a tilt of her head. “Are… Are you a cat?”

The bug and cat opened their eyes, and both girls felt themselves flinch.

“Hi there!” the red bug greeted with a wide, toothy grin and a voice so high it’d give Rose competition. Juleka's brain took a few moments to process what she was hearing, because quite simply  _this should not be happening_. It must have noticed the look of shock on Juleka’s face, because it flew a bit closer with its small hands -  _ stubs _ \- raised in caution. “Oh, no, there’s no need to be scared!”

“I, uh-” Juleka started, before slowly raising the phone back to her ear.

The cat thing looked like it was just waking up from a nap, and it yawned while stretching its comically small arms and legs. “Yeah, you can say that,” it answered Rose with a high-pitched but raspy voice. It looked like it was pulled straight out of a cartoon, but Rose was smart enough to not immediately trust adorable and  _totally impossible_ creatures. “But I’d like to think I’m much more charming than an actual cat. More of the cute, less of the mess, you know?”

“...Oh,” Rose replied, quickly grabbing her phone off the floor and holding it to her mouth.

Both bug and cat went wide-eyed and reached an arm out. “ _ No, wait! _ ”

“Rose, there’s a weird talking bug thing that-”

“Juleka, I think there’s a flying cat here who’s trying-!”

No party spoke a word as the messages sunk in.

“ _ Wait, you too? _ ” both girls asked each other, looking at their phones in shock.

The red bug looked between Juleka and her phone, a confused and horrified look on its face and blinking rapidly. “Did… Did your friend just say flying cat?”

“I, I think?” Juleka replied, the situation too bizarre for her to realize she had properly responded to it. “Rose, did you just say... a flying cat?”

“Y-Yes, I did,” Rose answered, staring at the cat as its eyes went wider. “And… you said a bug? A talking bug?”

“I… I did, yeah,” Juleka said, watching as the bug’s eyes darted around in worry.

Then the cat broke out into hysterical laughter, causing Rose to jump and almost drop her phone again.

“Are you  _ serious?! _ ” it shouted between laughs, falling onto its back while still hovering in the air. “We haven’t been awake for thirty seconds and we found the other one already?! That’s like, a new, unbeatable record!”

“Other person?” Rose repeated in confusion. “New record? What?”

The bug stared at Juleka’s phone, hearing Rose’s words and slapping both hands over its eyes. “This can _ not _ be happening…”

“I, uh,” Juleka said in confusion, glancing between the bug and her phone. “I have no idea what’s going on right now.”

“You and me both,” Rose mumbled as the cat wiped a tear from its eye.

“Okay, um,” the bug said with a sigh, one stub between its eyes as if it were pinching the bridge of its nonexistent nose. “Let’s… Let’s just start from the beginning.” It looked back up to Juleka with the same smile as before. “I’m… Tikki! I’m a kwami, and I’m here to help you fight against the akuma!”

Juleka blinked at the… at Tikki. “I understood, like, none of that.”

“So, I’m Plagg,” the cat introduced after calming down. “I’m a kwami by trade. My strengths are giving someone - that’d be you - the power to literally destroy anything you touch and overall bad luck. Sounds cool, doesn’t it?”

Rose continued to stare at the creature named Plagg. “Um… I’m not sure I follow, but... not really? It sounds kinda scary, actually.”

Tikki frowned, and put a paw to its (her?) lip. “Okay... time for a quick explanation.”

Plagg rolled its (his?) eyes and lid down on its side in midair. “M’kay. Well, lemme get to the point.”

“ _ The monster on the screen is an akuma, and I can help you fight it _ .”

Juleka and Rose looked back up to the laptop and TV respectively, and watched as the stone giant Ivan had supposedly turned into continued its dangerous trek down the streets of Paris.

“Wait… you can help…  _ me _ fight it?” Juleka repeated, her phone still to her ears.

 

Rose took in the words, then looked back at the… the kwami. “I… can help keep people safe? I can…”

“Yeah, if you’re up for it,” Plagg said with a noncommittal shrug. “I mean, you were chosen for a reason, so I assume you must have  _ some _ sense of justice, or whatever, right?”

“Chosen?” Rose asked, zeroing in on that particular word.

Juleka looked down at her phone, then up to Tikki. “Chosen?”

Tikki sighed and shook her head. “That… will have to be talked about later. For now I think we need to hurry and go stop the akuma.”

“Okay, you keep saying-” Juleka sighed and quickly put her phone on her desk and turned it on speaker. “You keep saying the word ‘akuma’. But what is that? The monster? Or is it, like, something that turns someone into a monster? ‘Cuz I’m almost certain that’s a friend of ours, and not… you know.”

Tikki’s eyes went wide and she turned back to the screen. “Oh, wow, that actually saves us time. Yes, an akuma is a being of pure energy that can be used to empower anyone its master chooses. Although in this circumstance the master is causing people to become… villains, it seems. A-Anyway, an akuma enters an object that the person who gets targeted is holding, and the only way to change them back is to break the object.”

“Huh. Okay,” Juleka replied quietly, thoughts racing. “So…” She looked up to Tikki. “How am  _ I _ able to do that?”

“W-What was that, Juleka?” Rose asked, turning the volume up on her phone. “I don’t think I caught what your little bug said.”

“Oh, that’s ‘cuz kwamis aren’t caught by the technology in this day and age,” Plagg said to her, idly scanning her room. “Cameras, phones, you name it, we can’t be seen or heard by it. Not even to each other.”

“Then, how do you guys communicate?” Rose asked the cat.

“Normally, we don’t! That’s one of the downsides of your identities being kept a secret, but,” he waved his hands towards Rose and her phone, “well, you guys failed step one already, so.”

“I see…” Rose said, tapping her chin in thought. She shook her head and looked back up. “Um, anyway! I want to help poor Ivan and maybe Kim and Alix and Mr. D’Argencourt too! What do I have to do?”

“I’ll help you transform into a superhero!” Tikki announced, joyfully spinning on the spot. “You’ll gain the powers of good luck and creation and you’ll be able to stop the akuma in its tracks!”

“Good luck and… creation…” Juleka said to herself. Well, ladybugs were supposed to be good luck... “Y’know, this sounds awfully convenient.”

“I know it’s hard to believe,” Tikki nodded, but flew closer to Juleka’s face. She instinctively pulled back a little but kept looking at the kwami. “But trust me when I say that, right now, you and Rose are quite literally Paris’ only hope!”

Juleka felt her brow shoot up. “Paris’...  _ only  _ hope?”

“Yes, it’s a dire situation,” Tikki nodded sadly. “That’s why I  _ really _ need to explain how you can fight the akuma!”

“So, like I said, destruction and bad luck,” Plagg casually explained, sitting on top of Rose’s monitor. “You say the magic words and you turn into a superhero with my help. You’ll have a bunch of physical enhancements, like more strength, durability, speed, yadda yadda yadda.” He said it as if he had it memorized. Or like he had said it a hundred times already. “And by clenching your fist and yelling out ‘Cataclysm!’, you’ll also be able to destroy the first thing you touch, no matter what it is!” He flew right up to her face and jabbed her in the nose, his face suddenly serious. “Use this  _ responsibly _ . You dunno how many times I had a holder end up touching  _ someone  _ with Cataclysm active. Lemme just say,  _ I  _ won’t be the one cleaning that up.”

Horrified, Rose merely gulped and nodded.

“You’ll also have a weapon, a baton that can extend to like, ridiculous lengths.” Plagg immediately went back to uninterested. “It can go as long as you want with just a thought, really. Sorta like a mental weapon in a physical form, y’know?”

“Um, sure.” Honestly, Rose thought the destruction bit was  _ terrifying _ , but if it could help her help others, then she’d do it without hesitation. Probably.

“When you say the magic words, I’ll enter your miraculous and grant you powers, including enhanced strength, durability, speed, reflexes, and so much more!” Tikki announced, settling herself down into Juleka’s open hands. “You’ll also have a… I guess humans in this age would refer to it as a yoyo. Anyways, you’d have one for a weapon, and with every throw of it you’ll be able to mentally decide where it goes and what it wraps around. You’ll be able to swing your way across the city, and tie up any villains who get in your way!”

“Huh. That, sounds pretty cool,” Juleka said as she absorbed the words.

Tikki giggled, a chime-like noise coming from her mouth. “That’s not even the best part! If you yell out ‘Lucky Charm!’ and throw the yoyo in the air, the Powers of Creation and Good Luck will bestow upon you an item that will most definitely help you out in your fight! And once you capture the akuma, you can use the item again by throwing it back into the air and yelling ‘Miraculous Ladybug!’ so that it can cleanse the city of the damage caused by the akuma!” She flew right up to Juleka’s nose and stared her in the eyes. “A warning, though: only  _ you _ have this power, so you need to make sure you do this before your power runs out!”

Juleka blinked at the kwami. “Wait, runs out? So, you mean there’s a time limit?”

Rose glanced down to the phone in her hands as she followed Plagg throughout the room. “Wait, time limit? What time limit?”

“Oh, yeah, that, I was getting there,” Plagg said, having moved to examine the knick knacks on Rose’s dresser. “Using your Cataclysm takes a  _ heck  _ of a lot of energy, and I’ve only got so much in my small, adorable body! When you use it, you’ll only have about five minutes before you turn back into your-” he dismissively waved a paw at her, “-excessively pink and very human form.”

“Oh… That’s... really inconvenient, don’t you think?” Rose asked Plagg in concern.

The cat kwami merely shrugged. “That’s life, kitten.”

“Mm, I guess so…”

“So, with this I can save Ivan, right?” Juleka asked, finally standing from her chair and looking at Tikki in determination.

“Yes!” Tikki cheered, flying around in circles once more. “I knew you’d take up the opportunity to do it!”

“Honestly I’m... “ Juleka looked off to the side. “I’m still not sure if  _ I’m _ the one who can do it. I don’t even know why I’m even an option to begin with, and it sounds… frickin’  _ crazy _ , but…” She took in a breath through her nose and nodded. “If I was chosen by a higher power, or whatever… I’ll give it a shot, I guess.”

“I-I will as well!” Rose cried, having heard everything her friend said. “I’ve been sitting on the sidelines too long to still do nothing now! I’m ready to help!”

Plagg let out a laugh and flew over to Rose. “I knew you’d have it in ya, kid.”

“So, what are the magic words? How do I transform?” Rose asked, fists clenched in front of her.

Plagg held up a paw and was about to speak, but thought for a second. “Actually, hang on, where’s the miraculous?”

“The m-miraculous?” Rose repeated, her brow scrunching at the word.

Hearing her friend, Juleka looked at Tikki. “Oh, right, you said the same thing, earlier. I meant to ask about that.”

Tikki nodded, turned around to the desk and flew to the box that Juleka had completely forgotten about. The kwami brought it back to her and opened it up. “This is your miraculous!”

Juleka looked into it and remembered she had briefly saw this before the box had spat out Tikki. Inside there were two small, round earrings, but seemed to have darkened in color since she last looked at them. “Uh, my ears aren’t actually pierced,” Juleka said with a frown as she took them out.

“Oh, that’s okay!” Tikki said, setting the box back down on the desk. “They’re magical items, they’ll attach to your earlobes regardless!”

“That’s… kinda weird, but okay.” Juleka examined one with scrutiny before shrugging and placing one to her ear. To her surprise, the pin seemed to vanish at the touch, and the jewelry stayed in place. “...Huh.”

“In here,” Plagg said, leaning against the hexagonal box that Rose had forgot was still there. “Your miraculous is the ring.”

Rose picked the box up and opened it to indeed see a ring, although it had turned into a brighter shade of gray, and was almost translucent, as opposed to the pitch black she had seen. With a nod she slipped the ring on her left ring finger but… didn’t really feel any different. “So… what now?”

“Now it’s time for the magic words!” Plagg cheered. He zipped into the air and struck what looked like an epic pose. “All you gotta say is ‘Claws Out!’ and I’ll be sucked into the miraculous and you’ll transform! Simple!”

“Alright!” Rose said with a grin.

“So, the words?” Juleka prompted Tikki, closing the hand mirror and putting it back on the desk.

The bug kwami nodded and smiled. “In order to transform, you need to say ‘Spots On!’ And- Oh, wait!” She zipped closer to Juleka’s face, who flinched a bit. “Let me remind you,  _ no one _ must know of your identity! I won’t be around to guide you when you transform, so make sure to leave and get to a safe spot before you change back!”

Juleka frowned, not liking the idea of being without help while transformed, but nodded regardless and stood. “Okay. I’ll try.”

“You’ll be fine! I believe in you, and I’m sure Rose believes in you too!” Tikki reassured.

Juleka blinked and nodded once more. She needed to remember that. “R-Right, you’re right.”

With an intake of breath, Juleka pulled the hair away from her ears and Rose raised her hand in front of her.

“ _ Tikki, Spots On. _ ”

“ _ Plagg, Claws Out! _ ”

The kwamis were sucked into the miraculous, and both girls burst into beacons of light.

They felt…  _ pure energy _ wash over them, flow through their veins, radiate around them. They felt shifts in their forms, clothes being whisked away and changing into new shapes and materials. They couldn’t tell what exactly was happening, but they felt  _ powerful _ , and did nothing to stop the sensation as it worked its magic.

Soon, the light subsided, and the girls opened their eyes.

Juleka looked around, noting that nothing had been outright changed in her surroundings, but as her head turned she felt a difference in her hair and realized it had somehow been put into a ponytail. Then she looked down at herself and saw copious amounts of  _ red _ . It looked like she was wearing… a jacket? And tights? She spied her hand mirror still on the desk, but it definietly wouldn’t be good enough for an entire costume change. Determining that the coast was still clear, she made her way to the bathroom.

Upon looking at herself in the full-sized mirror, she stared in shock.

The first thing that she saw was a red mask with black spots over it, practically plastered to her face. She tried pulling at it, but no matter how hard she did it, she realized that A) it wouldn’t come off and felt almost stuck to her skin, and B) it didn’t hurt at all when it pulled her skin. She chalked it up to magic ( _ god  _ that was weird to think seriously) and looked at the rest of her outfit.

She saw red. A  _ ridiculous  _ amount of red. She now sported a zipper-less jacket that was somehow attaching itself to each other, and had sleeves that ended as cuffs at her wrists. The coat seemed to have coattails that resembled the back of a ladybug, and had spots on it as opposed to the top half of the jacket. She saw her legs, feet, and also her hands underneath a sort of skin-tight material that she couldn’t place, colored entirely in red with more black spots dotted throughout. Around her waist and tied by its string was the yoyo Tikki had mentioned, but Juleka wasn’t sure if she should touch that right yet. Her hair was also indeed in a ponytail, and the hair tie seemed to have… antennae sticking out of it? For the bug theme, probably.

The most shocking thing of it all was that her purple highlights had  _ changed to red _ .  _ What the fuck _ .

She looked at herself once more, and could only stare in complete shock. “This is… an actual thing. That is actually happening. Wow.”

When the light diminished, Rose’s eyes were immediately drawn to the mirror on the other side of the room, and she quickly scurried over to it. They went wide in awe at what she saw.

The first thing she took in was the dark-as-night mask that was over her eyes. She moved her eyebrows around and scrunched her face and noticed that it didn’t pull or hurt her at all, and seemed to perfectly mimic her movements, which was pretty amazing and unbelievable.

Then she looked down at the rest of herself and gasped in delight. She was… in a dress. A black dress with poofy shoulders, and sleeves that went all the way to her wrist, along with clawed gloves on her hands. The dress went no further than her thighs and was rather frilly underneath, but she was also wearing black tights that… also happened to be shoes? Or boots maybe? There were golden ankle-clasps where boots would normally start, but after inspecting it, she saw that the boots were absolutely part of the tights. Looking back up, she saw the baton (or, really, more like a staff) that Plagg had talked about, sticking to her back, somehow. There wasn’t anything actually holding it in place. Magic, she guessed (how  _ cool _ was it that she could think that seriously?).

Then again, none of that said anything about the  _ cat ears _ on her head and the  _ cat tail  _ that was sprouting from her lower back. Both of which  _ twitched _ when she poked them.

The fact that there was a pretty pink bow at the end of the tail however definitely cemented this as literally the best outfit ever.

Rose could barely contain a squee as she looked herself up and down. “I am  _ so  _ in love with this you have no idea!”

Both girls jumped at each other’s voices.  _ Oh right, the phone _ .

They rushed back to grab their devices and started speaking at once. Or, tried to.

“Rose, I-”

“ _Oh my god Juleka this is the best thing ever I look so cute and oh-em-gee I bet you look even cuter what does your outfit look like I have cat ears and a cat tail and a frilly dress and I feel so ALIVE_ _like I’m ready to take on the world and-_ ”

“ _ Rose! _ ” Juleka near shouted, something she rarely if ever did, and managed to gain the girl’s attention. “Yes, I’m sure you look cute, like always, but… the akuma?”

“The- The what?” Rose asked, barely catching the compliment like a slippery sponge.

Right, she didn’t hear Tikki say that. Why didn’t  _ her _ kwami tell her? Well, whatever. “The monster? Ivan?”

Rose paused. “ _ OH RIGHT! _ ”

Juleka sighed in affection and turned back to the news on her laptop, which was still covering the giant’s rampage through all of their talking. “It looks like… Oh, god, yeah, it’s heading towards the stadium. We need to go, like, now.”

“You’re right!” Rose replied, having turned back to her own TV. “Um… Question! How do we get there? Running there would take too much time!”

“Um. Uh.” She recalled the words Tikki had told her. “Enhanced strength and speed right? We could… running  _ might _ be fine, but-”  _ Wait, the yoyo _ . “Rose, what sort of weapon do you have? I can use my yoyo to get there fast, apparently, but what about you?”

“Oh, I have an extendable staff,” Rose replied, easily taking it off her back and examining it. “Plagg said it can go as long as I want it to. Like… I’m guessing he  _ literally _ meant that. I can probably use it to pole vault or something?”

“That- Okay, that’s good,” Juleka nodded. “We can skip the roads entirely and just, like, run the rooftops to get there.”

Rose squealed once more and jumped on the spot. “Oooh, this is like  _ Sailor Moon _ isn’t it? Super powered heroes going out and fighting villains in the name of justice!”

Juleka laughed. Leave it to her friend to compare it to magical girls. “Yeah, sure, pretty similar to -” she stopped and thought back to Tikki’s words. “Wait, that reminds me, we need, like, codenames. Or something.”

“Codenames?”

“Yeah, Tikki told me no one can know our identities. So I’m pretty sure we shouldn’t call each other by name. We need something else to call each other.”

“Mmm, okay, I-” Rose turned back to the TV to see Ivan once more, forcing her mind back on track. “Um actually we should do it on the way out! Ivan - the monster -  _ whatever _ is getting close to the stadium!”

“Right, right.” Juleka huffed and psyched herself up. “Okay, I, uh, guess I’ll meet you there?”

“Yes I guess so!” Rose said with confidence, and looked at her window. “Um. Bye bye!”

With that, the new holder of the black cat miraculous turned off her phone, tucked it in one of the pockets on her dress ( _ thank god they were included) _ and quickly opened her window. She looked down from the second floor, gulped once, but looked up in determination. She effortlessly leaped onto the sill and  _ launched _ herself out of the window...

Juleka hung up the phone and put it in her own pocket  _ (thank you Powers That Be for pockets) _ , and hopped onto her bed. The new holder of the ladybug miraculous looked out across the seine, figuring that going from the window would have been better than walking out the front door. She opened the window, took the yoyo from her hip, spied a single lamppost on the other side of the river, and  _ pitched _ the thing across the water with… improbable accuracy, to say the least. Not sure what to do next, she idly pulled on the string and was completely unprepared for when she  _ flew  _ across the water...

_ And off towards their first day as Paris’ New Superhero Duo _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huge shout out and a big thank you to @NeoWishes (https://twitter.com/NeoWishes) for the wonderful art piece commissioned for the story!!


	4. Beginner's Luck

“ _SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHI-_ ”

_ She was travelling over the seine at ridiculously fast speeds being carried by nothing but a yoyo string and was headed face-first for a lamppost why did she think this was a good idea why did she even open that box why why why why wh- _

Her trajectory caused her to fly  _over_ the lamppost, but somehow the yoyo stopped her from going too far, sending her  _underneath_ the post but still moving forward and making her fly right back _up_  over it.

Then the yoyo become untangled somehow and she was sent into the sky  _again_.

It snapped into her hands and she glared at it for betraying her trust, but her eyes returned to reality as she found herself  _flying over several buildings and about to crash land on a rooftop_.

“No no nono _nonoNONONO-_ ”

There wasn’t any last minute saving, no other hero to come in and catch her. Juleka  _smacked_  hard into the rooftop, tumbling and rolling over herself, from one portion of the building to the next, limbs nothing more than a tangled mess, until she finally came to an abrupt halt as her back collided with a chimney. Her legs ended up slumping over her, and the weight caused her to fall completely to the side.

Opening her eyes, Juleka found herself… practically unharmed.

She immediately sat up and checked herself over. Nope, she was quite literally okay. No tears in the suit, no cuts or bruises, no broken bones, no…  _anything_. She was…

If she was being honest, she was  _thrilled_.

“What the hell,” she said under her breath, mouth slowly forming a grin. “This is  _awesome_.”

She stood and looked around. She just… she just wanted to  _jump_  and  _swing_  and  _fly_ again, just because she could. She had so much  _energy_  and she had no idea what to do with it. Juleka found herself jumping a bit on the spot, trying to find the best direction to leap in and keep going.

Her thoughts caught up with her movements, and she shook her head. “No, no, I have a job. The stadium.”

She looked off in the direction she knew her destination to be in, and took a running jump off the building, not even bothering to gauge the distance. It didn't matter, as she landed on the other roof without issue. Looking back to where she came from, her grin widened further and she continued on her way.

Rose was having the  _time of her life_  as she surged over the rooftops, flipping over gaps between buildings and using her new pole/staff/baton thing to get her across the streets. The few times she missed her mark she would grab the sides of the building with her claws and pull herself higher than she needed to in order to reach the roof.

With a flourish she landed, arms spread wide and a self-pleased grin on her face. She stood and looked at the path she had taken since leaving her house. True, it might have been a bit… roundabout, since the stadium was so close. But who went to tackle their first task with no training? Besides, she was waiting for Jule- or, rather, her ‘partner’ to arrive.

She sighed. “That’s going to take some getting used to,” Rose said, idly scratching her neck and suddenly (and painfully) remembering that her claws were actually _very_ sharp. “Actually  _all_  of this is going to take some getting used to.”

She scanned the building tops, looking for anything vaguely human-looking, but frowned when nothing popped out at her. Juleka didn’t live…  _that_  far away from her, did she? Especially with  _super powers_  to get her over faster. Maybe she was practicing too? Or may-

Rose jumped and involuntarily let out a yelp as a  _crash_  resounded behind her, and she looked down from the rooftop to see-

“Ivan,” Rose breathed. He was… much larger than she remembered seeing on the screen. “I guess the police didn’t learn their lesson the first time.”

She still didn’t see Juleka on the rooftops, so she decided to simply follow Ivan - or, the akuma, or  _whatever_ \- for the time being. No sense in engaging when she was alone. But then again she probably should try and stop it from going any further… Although, if they got to the stadium and no one was inside, it'd make for less of a chance for casualties, so the best thing to do would probably be to wait it out and just follow from a distance until her partner showed up.

Rose stuck to the rooftops and hid as much as she could, though it wasn't like she needed it - the akuma had a single goal in mind and wasn't deviating from it, it seemed. Once the Parc de Princes was just a street away, though, Rose was nervously trying to decide whether or not she should do anything about it.

Then footsteps sounded behind her and all worry was lost.

“Hey,” Juleka’s voice filled the air in a higher pitch than Rose was used to, and she whirled around to see a woman wearing red and black like a ladybug, panting slightly and a big smile on her face. Bigger than anything Rose had ever seen on her best friend. Which was not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. The smile grew even wider. “Cute outfit.”

Rose beamed at her and hid her blush with her hands. “Aw, thank you! Yours is pretty and cool too!”

Juleka grinned wider and rubbed her neck. “T-Thanks. So, uh,” she looked back at her friend, her face changing in determination. “What’s happening?”

Rose fidgeted and turned back around. “Oh, uh-” She pointed down the street, and Juleka came up alongside her. Ivan - the akuma - whatever had finally made it to the stadium and was looking up to its top, almost in contemplation.

“Probably trying to think of a way to get inside,” Juleka mumbled. “C’mon, we need to stop him.”

“Wait, what about our names?” Rose asked her. “You were the one who said that was important.”

Juleka paused mid-crouch. Oh yeah, she did say that. She was kind of distracted by  _being dragged through the air._  “Hm. I still haven’t come up with anything good. What about you?”

“Oh, I had this really cute name!” Rose declared. She motioned to her new costume. “I’m like a black cat, right? But black cats are reeeally bad luck, and I know that even if I’m meant to be bad luck, I don’t want to be scaring people! So to make it more appealing, I’ve decided to call myself-” she struck a cat-like pose, standing in a hunch and claws on her fingers pointed outwards, “- _Chaton Noir_!”

Juleka smiled and giggled at her friend’s adorableness. “That is  _so_  like you Rose.”

Rose faltered for a second. “Is it… too childish?”

“What?” Juleka shook her head. “No, not at all! It’s… it’s perfect.”

Rose’s - Chaton Noir’s grin radiated sunlight. “Thank you! But, what will I call you…?”

Juleka opened her mouth to reply, but a deep grunt and another  _crash_  stole her attention. Apparently while they had talked Ivan had  _jumped_  the height of the Parc de Princes and landed right on the top. He  _roared_  and leaped inside.

“We can figure it out later we gotta move let’s  _go_.” Without waiting for another word, Juleka shot her yoyo to a fixture at the top of the stadium, grabbed a surprised Rose around the waist and  _pulled_. The two rode the string with no issue, both noticing how easy and seamless the process was.

They flew above the rooftop and stumbled when they hit the flat surface. Maybe the landing could have been softer, but hey, mistakes were bound to happen first day on the job.

“I think I'm starting to get better at this,” Juleka said, the yoyo unwrapping itself from its perch. “First time I did that I kind of turned into a human tumbleweed for a bit.”

“Oh, goodness, are you okay?” Rose asked.

“Yeah. Actually, I've… never felt better. This suit is  _crazy awesome_.”

“It  _does_  help with strength enhancements doesn't it?” Juleka looked at her friend with a quirked brow. “I mean, before today I  _know_  you'd never be able to lift me with one arm.”

Juleka laughed and smirked. “And what makes you so sure I haven't been secretly working out in my spare time? For all you know I could have been-.”

“ _ **KIIIIIIIIIIIIIM!**_ _”_

The penetrating  _explosion_  of noise erupting from Ivan pulled the two out of their banter. “Okay, play time’s over, we have work to do,” Rose - Chaton - said, plucking her staff from her back (Juleka saw that it was held there by  _nothing_ ) and aimed one end down at the monster. “We can’t exactly hurt it though, can we?”

“No, it’ll just get stronger,” Juleka replied, "the police did a good job with _that_ already. Uh, Tikki said something about an... object? That the akuma is corrupting and that we need to break in order to save Ivan? I think? Something like that.”

“I can’t really see anything other than stone from here,” Chaton murmured, squinting at the monster.

“He has to have it somewhere,” Juleka said, and started spinning her yoyo. “Just… try taking him down without hurting him. I can try and topple him from the legs. Can you keep him grounded?”

“I’ll try,” Chaton nodded, and without another word (or, movement, even) the staff in her hands blazed forward, forward,  _forward_ , until it hit the grass of the stadium’s field.

“Huh,” Juleka hummed, eyeing the point of impact with the ground. “It really can go as far as you want.”

“That’s what makes it  _so cool_.”

Chaton  _launched_  off the roof, diminishing the staff’s length as she went forward and descended into the Parc.

Juleka could only really laugh at the situation. “Oh  _god_. We’re actual superheroes using actual magical items to fight actual giant stone supervillains. This is actually happening right now. What the  _hell_ is my life.”

With a shake of her head she took one step forward, falling slightly and turning face-down to the stadium, and with a kick off the side of the roof  _fired_  herself towards her partner and the villain.

“ _Hey, Thing, it’s time to get clobbered!_ ”

Chaton landed in a roll, bringing her staff back to a reasonable length, and slid under Ivan’s legs. She turned and entered a defensive stance, but was giggling all the same. “Did  _you_  just make a  _Fantastic Four_ pun?”

As Ivan saw her and roared, a red blur wrapped around his stone head, shocking him into stopping entirely. Juleka leaped over him, landed next to Chaton and  _pulled_. With another scream the unaware Ivan toppled onto the ground.

“I thought it was appropriate for the situation,” she quipped casually, catching the yoyo with ease.

“But I've known you for ten years and I don't remember you _ever_ making a pun intentionally.”

“True, but today's a day of whole new experiences, so I figured I’d just give it a shot.”

Ivan growled and stood to his full, gigantic height, catching their attention and setting them back into fighting mode. He raised his right fist and swung it down towards them at blinding speeds. Chaton figured the suit also increased her reflexes, because before she realized she was doing it she dodged the fist at the last second and started sprinting at a ridiculous pace around the giant. “In that case I guess you could say,” she shouted to Juleka, “that I have  _cat_ -like reflexes.”

“Booooo,” Juleka shouted back, and gasped as Ivan turned to her. She wasn't really sure what she was thinking at the moment, but when his glowing yellow eyes locked on to her running form and he reached out his left hand to grab her, Juleka  _jumped_ , turned to him and swung her yoyo at the arm. It wrapped itself around the solid limb multiple times, and Juleka landed a short distance away.

With a grin, Juleka said, “Kinda overused, but the bigger they are the harder they  _fall!_ ” and  _pulled_  on the string with all her might.

Ivan, now probably aware of what was going on, stood his ground. The arm moved only a tiny bit.

Juleka blinked at the glaring golem and looked at him in horror. “I…  _may_  have overestimated my abilities a little.”

“ _You think?_ ” Ivan suddenly replied.

Juleka jerked slightly. “Wait, you can actually ta _AAAAAAAAAAALK-”_

Ivan suddenly  _pulled_ on the string himself, dragging Juleka off her feet  _and_  the ground, and spun around on the spot with the superhero attached to him.

“ _Obviously!_   _What, you think I’m stupid or something?!”_

“ _NOOOOO_ -!” Juleka shouted in response, still latched on to the string. She could feel her insides lurching at the speed.  _Please stop please stop please sto-_

The yoyo came untangled again.

_ NOT LIKE THI- _

The momentum  _surged_  her forward,  _slamming_ her into one of the seating sections of the stadium, and causing a copious amount of dust and debris to come pouring out of the spot she landed.

“ _J-_ I mean, um, uh...” Chaton wanted to scream her name, to make sure she was okay, but she caught herself and refrained from saying it. She had no idea what, if anything, the akuma would do with the information, or who else could be listening, so it was best to lean on the side of caution.

That being said, she  _did_  need to alert her to the fact that there was a fourth person in the stadium…

Near where Juleka had landed, Chaton squinted (and noticed not for the first time that her eyesight seemed to  _focus_  to an absurd degree) and saw that, in one of the exits leading to the hallways under the stands, the new girl in their class of all people was crouching down and filming everything on her phone, currently moving as far back as she could to get a glimpse of Juleka’s current situation.

“Why is she here?!” Chaton wondered to herself, having stopped in her tracks to watch what was unfolding. “Doesn’t she know how dangerous it is?!”

Then Ivan started walking towards her and Chaton panicked.

Knowing she couldn’t actually hurt him without making the situation worse, Chaton decided to do the next best thing by distracting him.

“Okay, suit, don’t fail me now,” she mumbled, and  _dashed_  right over to the walking stone titan. Right when she was about to reach him, she jumped onto his shoulder, then once more onto his head. Of course he noticed this, and Ivan stopped walking altogether. She gripped his scalp as much as she could (while making it as painless to him as possible) as he spun his head around to try and see what had climbed on top of him.

“ _Get offa me!_ ” the akuma cried, spinning around much faster than Chaton had anticipated.

“ _Bad idea, bad idea, bad idea,_ ” Chaton griped as she hung on for dear life. Then she got the even crazier idea of covering his eyes with her hands and immediately went to do that. Ivan  _roared_  once more and reached up to his head with his left hand. Chaton gasped. “ _Super bad idea-_ ”

His giant, stone fist formed around her, and she felt that no matter how much she struggled his grip was not going to loosen. Not even her staff could help her, since she had put it away and needed to be holding it for it to work. Chaton desperately looked to her partner, and was thankful to see that she was standing from the rubble.

Chaton needed, first and foremost, to get the new girl  _out of there_  so that she didn’t get caught in the crossfire.

She also needed a name to call her partner.

With no time to think of anything clever, Chaton just cut their losses and shouted out to her.

“ _Ladybug! There’s a girl over there!_ ”

Juleka’s eyes snapped up to Chaton, the dizziness in her head dispelling immediately. Chaton couldn’t point to where she was referring to (as it would be especially hard to do when a stone giant was  _hurling_   _you into the net at the other side of the field_ ), but after a quick glance around the area Juleka looked to her left and down to the field to see Alya there, her phone held sideways and a glitter in her eye.

“Ladybug! Did you hear that, people?!” Alya screamed into her phone. “Our hero’s name is  _Ladybug!_ ”

Great, now that name was going to go viral and now she wouldn’t be able to choose one herself. Well, whatever. More importantly...

“What on earth are you doing?!” Juleka shouted at her, leaning over the railing and staring down. “This is clearly  _dangerous!_  Get out of here before you get hurt!”

“Someone needs to cover this!” Alya shouted back, just as loud. “Besides, you’re here to save us all, right, Ladybug? You’ll keep me safe!”

“That’s-” Ladybug - Juleka - whatever, didn’t have a chance to retort before Ivan  _howled_  again, and turned his attention back to her. “Just- Oh my god, just stay there and do  _not leave that spot_.”

She looked back and shot away from the stands before she could hear a reply. She headed towards the same net Chaton had been thrown into, thankfully finding her none the worse for wear. To make sure he followed her, Juleka shot the yoyo in front of his face and brought it back, easily gaining his attention. “Hey, Rolling Stone, over here!”

Ivan growled and turned back around, picking up the pace and breaking out into a run. Before he could get very far, though, Juleka fired her yoyo again, and it found its way around his legs. With a loud and angry cry he fell to the ground, sliding a bit and kicking up grass and dirt as he did.

“I guess these nets were made with monsters throwing people into them in mind,” Chaton said, standing up and shaking her head.

“Doing okay, Chaton?” Juleka asked with a smile, grip held firmly over the string.

“I’m okay, that… didn’t hurt at all, actually,” she declared, standing next to Juleka and with renewed energy. “What about you? That looked painful.”

“I’m fine. Not even a bruise.” She looked to Chaton with a quirked brow. “Also, ‘Ladybug’? Really?”

Chaton looked back and shrugged helplessly. “I-It was the only thing I could think of, and I needed to let you know!”

Juleka huffed and shrugged. “Well, what’s done is done. Anyway, see anything on his person that-” Ivan lurched and tried to stand, but Juleka held firm. “Anything that might have an akuma in it?”

“No, nothing! He’s just… totally naked, really.” Juleka frowned at the description, and Chaton flinched at the words. “I mean, he doesn’t have anything on him that looks like a cursed object!”

“Okay... okay, let’s see,” she said and quickly thought through her options. He was kind of slow, so they didn’t have to worry about out pacing him, but he was  _crazy_  strong, and could also not be harmed or else they’d literally have bigger things to worry about. They needed that object, but she had no idea where it would be, and as they were right now they were kinda sorta outclassed. They needed some sort of assistance, something to help them turn the tide of battle… Honestly, they needed a bit of-

-luck.

“Shit, why didn’t I think this before,” Juleka said aloud, and without a second thought undid the yoyo binding Ivan’s legs and brought it back to her.

“Wh- Ladybug?” Chaton asked.

Juleka - Ladybug - whatever, glanced back at her friend and partner and  _grinned_. “Time to test something out.” She looked at her yoyo and breathed in. “Don’t let me down.”

She set it to her side and started  _spinning_  it, faster and faster and felt the magic  _flowing_  through her and into the weapon and  _knew_ this was going to work and at the bottom of its rotation threw it  _high into the sky_.

With a bellowing cry, Ladybug shouted, “ _Lucky Charm!_ ”

Magic swirled forth from it, spiralling through the sky and brightening the already lit up stadium, before gathering together and coalescing into…

A crowbar?

Juleka caught it with a dumbfounded expression and stared at the item. “What,” she deadpanned, “the  _fuck_.”

“How’s a  _crowbar_  going to help us?!” Chaton asked with a shocked face.

“I- I don’t know, I-” Juleka - Ladybug - whatever got cut off by a loud and unsavory  _beep-beep-beep_  reverberating from her ears. She put a hand to the earrings and frowned. “What was that?”

“It… looks like one of the spots on them is gone,” Chaton supplied, moving a bit closer to look.

She growled. “The time limit. It’s already started.” She looked back up at Ivan as he stood to his full height and  _shouted_  in frustration. In a small part of the back of her mind, Juleka could admit that this form of her classmate was pretty freaking cool. He was at least as tall as a small building, had glowing eyes of yellowish doom, and had a pretty menacing stature as well. His roar left everyone in fear, and his stance was a sight to behold, with one hand outstretched and fingers curled in a frightening manner, while the other one was-

“Clenched,” Ladybug found herself saying.

“What?” Chaton asked.

“Clenched. His fist. It’s… it’s clenched! And I don't think it's been open this entire time…” She looked at the crowbar and back at Ivan. “That has to be where the object is! And that’s why I have a crowbar! To pry it open!”

Chaton’s mouth formed an ‘O’ and she nodded in understanding. “But, how are we going to open it when he’s just going to swipe at us?”

“We’ll need to keep him pinned down…” Ladybug looked around the stadium, taking in the various vantages near the top, and then looked at her partner and the staff at her back. Mind racing, she nodded slightly to herself. “Okay… Okay, I have an idea, but you might hate me for it.”

Chaton gasped. “What?! Never!”

Ladybug chuckled but leaned in to Chaton’s ear without a word. A few whispers, and several confused, shocked, understanding and then excited expressions from the shorter girl later, and a plan had been devised.

“I’m counting on you!” Ladybug said to her, and with a spin and a pull of her yoyo was soaring away from her.

“I won’t let you down!” Chaton cheered, and  _dashed_  along the field towards Ivan. Seconds before colliding with him, she skidded to a stop and put her hands innocently behind her back. “You know, that was a good toss, but you were just a  _stone’s throw_  from actually hurting me.”

There was absolutely no sound or movement for a solid five seconds, before Ivan  _screamed_  once more and  _slammed_ his fist into the spot Chaton had just been standing.

Several paces away, turning around after reflexively jumping to safety, Chaton grinned up at the enraged golem and cupped her hands over her mouth. “It’s a good thing you’re not very scary, otherwise I’d be  _petrified_!”

Again, Ivan screamed and attacked the girl who merely dashed away. What continued was several rock-based puns from Chaton (“Oh come on, I thought you of all people would have been  _boulder_  than that.”) and several more attempts at the killing blow from an infuriated rock-based akuma. After one too many from the superhero (who was  _clearly_  enjoying herself and could easily keep going), Ivan  _screeched_ , a horrifying cacophony escaping his mouth, and he  _jumped_  into the air to try and flatten her.

Which was what she was hoping for.

Taking her staff and embedding it into the ground beside her, Chaton extended it and flew immediately to the side, which just so happened to be right over the sports net lodged into the ground. Chaton, hanging on to the edge of her staff, watched as Ivan  _crashed_  down on to the other end, both hands planted into the ground in front of his face. Firmly wedged between a rock and a hard place, the baton didn’t dare move, and Chaton took this opportunity to cheer. She swung her legs a bit, back and forth, and started spinning around the staff, faster and faster until she let go and  _launched_  herself into the air, higher than even the stadium roof.

Then she lost momentum, flipped a few more times, and started falling back to earth feet-first.

She landed on the staff, and the magic of her suit allowed her to push that end of the weapon to the earth, causing it to use the net as a fulcrum and forcing the other end to shoot  _up_ , bringing Ivan along with it.

With a howl, Ivan was  _hurled_  into the air and started spinning horizontally, both arms still stretched out before him.

That was when Ladybug struck.

Leaping off of her perch on the roof, she  _threw_  her yoyo with a grunt and had it ensnare Ivan in a several-meters-long trap of highly-durable string. Locked into place, Ivan fell back to the ground with a groan and a crash, and as much as he tried to escape, he was too exhausted to break through the multiple layers of yoyo rope.

Landing on the ground in a three-point landing, Ladybug joined Chaton at the golem’s hand, and with a surge of energy both  _jammed_  their weapons - staff and crowbar respectively - into the bit of space left open in Ivan’s clenched fist. With two superheroes using the tremendously increased strength of their suits to their full potential, the outcome was already decided:

Ivan’s fist opened slightly, and a small, purple stone fell to the ground.

Ladybug immediately let go of the crowbar, reached under the fist to grab the stone, and  _crushed_  it when she stood back up.

A single, black and purple butterfly escaped from the debris. Ladybug and Chaton watched as it fluttered into the sky.

“Is… is that it?” Chaton asked. “Did we win?”

“I…” Ladybug started, squinting at the evil insect ascending higher into the sky.

A dark, purplish light caught their eyes, and both heroes looked back at Ivan as some sort of weird… bubbly, fog-like magic started enveloping him. They quickly entered a defensive stance once more, but relaxed when the magic subsided and Ivan, in his human form, was left in its place. Without anything holding them, the crowbar and staff noiselessly fell to the grass.

“Huh?” Ivan, still laying face-down and covered in string, sat up and looked around him. “Where… why am I here?”

“...I think we might have,” Ladybug replied to her partner. She felt a shift in her palm, and looked down to see the remaining pieces of the cursed rock morph back into nothing more than a crumpled sheet of paper. “This… was the object that got infected?”

“Oh dear,” Chaton whispered, staring at the sheet. “That might be the note Kim wrote this morning…”

Ladybug felt herself deflate. So the reason Ivan was targeted was because he was… so upset then? Was that it? Nothing else seemed to make him a target, and from the shows she’s watched and books she’s read, negative emotions can sometimes cause things to get troublesome… All the same, there wasn’t enough evidence.

She stepped forward to Ivan slowly, hastily retrieving the ample amount of yoyo string and putting the weapon back around her waist. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and notice that he flinched slightly. “It’s okay, you’re going to be alright.”

Ivan looked at her, bewilderment written all over his face. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

Ladybug took a second to realize that no, despite a simple eye mask, Ivan did  _not_  recognize her. More magical abilities? Who knew? “I’m… I’m, Ladybug, I suppose. And this is Chaton Noir,” she threw a thumb over her shoulder and Chaton waved pleasantly. “And you… um…”

“You... kind of turned into a supervillain,” Chaton supplied with a grimace, leaning out from behind Ladybug.

Ivan merely blinked. “I…  _what?_ ”

Then Ladybug blinked at him. “Do you… not remember that?” she asked, face scrunching in confusion.

“No! I…” Ivan frowned and thought back. “I… I got sent to the office. Kim made this… this note.” Ladybug held up the crumpled paper, which Ivan gingerly took and opened it. “Y-Yeah, this one. It just… It really pissed me off. But when I was about to enter the office, I... “ He set his mouth into a thin line, desperately attempting to recall. “I felt…  _power_  or something wash over me. For like, one second. Then…” He looked around the stadium. “Then I just, woke up here.”

“So, it was like you were asleep or something?” Chaton asked.

“N-No, not even that. Like one moment I was at the school, then the next I’m lying on the ground here. No... warning or anything. Though I do feel a lot… calmer, now.”

The heroes looked at each other in understanding. “Well, you’ll be okay now,” Chaton reassured, both her and Ladybug helping Ivan to his feet.

“Um, thanks, I guess,” Ivan mumbled.

“You’re not hurt, are you? We, uh…” Ladybug scratched her cheek. “Let’s just say the fight was a little… rough.”

Ivan blinked and looked around at the damage the stadium had sustained. “Did…  _I_  do that?”

“Er, somewhat?”

“I…” Ivan looked helplessly back at them. “I’m sorry. I’d never do anything like that if I had been in control. Please, you have to believe me.”

“Oh, no no, we do, no doubt!” Chaton told him earnestly. “Please don’t worry about it, we’re sure you’d never mean to harm anyone or anything.”

Ivan nodded and breathed to regain his nerves. “And, no… I’m not hurt. At all.” Ladybug and Chaton sighed in relief. “Though, I’m still not sure what happened, but-”

“ _I_  can help with that!” Suddenly, Alya was on the scene, phone in front of her and a dangerous grin on her face. “You turned into this  _huge_  stone monster that started wrecking everything! Then you came out here shouting Kim’s name and probably looking for his blood. Then  _these_  two,” she turned to Ladybug and Chaton Noir and pointedly ignored Ivan’s paralyzed expression, “came in, stopped you in your tracks, and saved the day! So, tell me, are you guys going to be Paris’ new heroes? Where did you powers come from? How do you do the things with your weapons? How did you know what to do to save Ivan? What’s going-”

The same  _beep-beep-beep_  from before resounded from Ladybug, and she jumped at the noise and glanced towards her ears. Having heard it three times already, she knew she really only had two minutes left before her powers left her.

“Okay, um, I sort of need to get going now,” Ladybug said with a sheepish grin and started backing away. She managed to get one last look at the stadium and the damage that had been caused. The field had been practically uprooted by the combatants, a section of the stands had been blown away from her own impact with them, and out there in the streets who  _knew_ how much unaccounted for damage had taken place. She hadn’t heard that anything  _too_  bad had happened, but it wasn’t like she had paid attention to the entire thing…

Did the city have the money to repair and compensate for everything? She… she wasn’t going to get sued or anything was she? Or Ivan? Was there anything she could do about this?

Ladybug stopped in her tracks and blinked. “Oh, right.” She rushed over next to Ivan and retrieved the fallen crowbar and tested it in her hand. With the idea in her head, she immediately started feeling the magic welling up in her.

This… there really  _was_  something she could do about it.

"What are you doing?" Chaton asked her with a tilted head.

Walking back a few more feet for a bit of room, she looked up into the sky with a smile. “I’m going to try something.”  Leaning down, she  _launched_  the crowbar into the air, back from whence it came. “ _Miraculous Ladybug!_ ”

The object  _soared_  into the air, Ladybug’s toss almost causing it to disappear entirely from view.

A second passed.

Then it exploded.

What came out of it looked like red…  _waves_  of something, of small individual somethings, and taking the time to look Ladybug thought she saw countless groups of…  _actual_  ladybugs. They burst from the object, flying every which way, most of them heading in the direction of the school where the majority of the damage probably was.

One swarm in particular found its way into the stadium, and seemed to almost wash itself against the destruction. The field no longer had dirt or upturned grass, and looked the exact same as it had been before. The stands were immediately corrected and realigned, ready for sitting in. Even the net, which had become slightly dented when the staff had been used on it, smoothed out and looked perfect once more.

“You can…  _fix_  the damage?” Chaton asked aloud, watching in awe as the swarm worked its magic.

“I… I guess I can,” Ladybug replied, a grin forming on her face.

“This is  _SO AMAZING!_ ” Alya practically screamed, quickly following the swarm with her camera.

Ivan didn’t say anything, but stared after the magic with a growing smile on his face.

Soon the swarm flew back into the sky and disappeared, its goal having been completed. The stadium was new once more, and a peaceful quiet settled over everyone.

Ladybug smiled. She… she had the power of change. She could  _fix_  this. If another akuma showed up to wreck havoc, she’d be able to do something about it. No more hiding in the back of the room. She… She could make a difference!

Another  _beep-beep-beep_  sounded out from her earrings.

“Uh-oh,” she whispered, everyone turning back to her. “I really,  _really_ got to go. Um. Bye?” Without another word, she threw her yoyo up onto the roof and flew out of sight.

Chaton watched her go, cheerfully waving after her. Unlike Ladybug, she didn’t actually use her power (seeing as how there didn’t really seem to be a need, and she didn’t want to use it on Ivan to begin with), so she was in no rush to get anywhere.

She turned back to her friend, and smiled up at him. “Do you… want me to bring you home? It wouldn’t be any trouble!”

Ivan turned to her. “No, I… I think I’ll be alright.”

“At the very least, I can walk you out,” she replied. “I don’t want to just  _leave_ , not until I know you’ll be okay.”

The larger boy smiled kindly at her. “Thanks, Miss.”

Chaton nodded at him, at which point Alya stuck her phone right in her face. “So, why did Ladybug run off like that? She looked desperate! Can you give us any insight on that, Miss Noir?”

“Oh, um,” Chaton stammered. She didn’t know how much information she should give out…! This wasn’t something they had time to discuss beforehand! “S-S-She… left the oven on…?”

Alya blinked at her, to which Chaton sheepishly shrugged. But instead of pressing further, Alya chuckled and nodded. “Got it. Superheroes need their secrets after all. But!” Her grin returned and she surged forward, Chaton actually taking a step back. “What  _can_  you tell us? Are there more of you? What are your powers based on? Magic? Technology? Why didn’t you demonstrate any special powers? Do you not have any? Who are you beneath the mask? How  _old_  are you? Do-”

“Okay, Alya, enough,” Ivan huffed out, putting a large hand around her arm and dragging her away.

“Ah- But-!”

“You really think a superhero wants to just reveal their secrets like that?” he asked her. “Especially so  _soon_?”

Alya stopped squirming and thought for a second. “N-No, I suppose not. Sorry, Miss.”

Chaton giggled and caught up with them. “It’s fine, but thank you for understanding.”

Halfway across the field, three more people showed up and started running towards them.

“Holy  _shit_ , Ivan?!” Kim asked in shock, as he, Alix and Mr. D’Argencourt quickly headed up to meet them. “We saw on the monitors, was that you this whole frickin' time?!”

“ _Language,_  Kim!” Mr. D’Argencourt said with a glare.

Kim grinned apologetically, but turned back to Ivan. “Dude you were  _huge!_  I thought for sure you were gonna find me at one point!”

Ivan’s fists clenched and he looked off to the side in shame, not saying a word. Chaton frowned and stepped between the two. “Alright, I’m sure he knows by now what happened. He can’t remember any of it, so just try and take it easy for now, okay?”

Kim rubbed the back of his neck. “Ah, sorry, my bad.”

“Excuse me!” Alix stepped forward past the others with a raised hand. “Listen, lady, there were a few friends of ours who left the stadium before us. I’ve gotten in touch with two of them but haven’t heard anything from the third.”

Chaton involuntarily flinched and thought about the untouched phone in her pocket.

“You wouldn’t happen to know if she made it home okay, would you?” Alix asked. Chaton knew that Alix cared about her friends, even though she rarely showed this level of concern, but the situation must have been a bit much for her to bare.

Chaton brought up a smile and nodded. “Don’t worry, I, ahh, made sure to see them home safely. From the rooftops! Couldn’t risk giving my position out, but, ah, they’re home safe and sound right now!”

She  _really_  hoped that was the case for the other two.

Alix visibly sighed in relief. “Okay, awesome. Maybe Rose just lost her phone or something.”

“I… I’m sure it’s nothing serious!” she assured.

“Miss Noir,” Mr. D’Argencourt said, starting off with a quick bow, “I’m sure this does not need speaking, but on behalf of all Parisians, I sincerely thank you for… containing the incident. I doubt neither the police  _nor_  the army would have known what to do, but you and Miss Ladybug riding in to save the day shall be remembered throughout history!”

Chaton smiled abashedly, and noticed Ivan’s scowl deepening even more (probably at the thought that they were going to sic the  _army_  on him), so she quickly replied, “Y-Yes, well, it was mostly Ladybug who did that, I just helped out. Speaking of, though, I probably should get going so I can check up on her. Shall we get moving?”

They left the stadium, Alya formally introducing herself to her classmates, Ivan quietly apologizing for his actions, and Chaton reassuring him that he wasn’t in control and was just as much a victim as the others. He barely responded to that, but accepted it with a nod.

When they made it outside, they saw that there were several police cars and emergency respondent vehicles already crowded around the entrance, and a multitude of reporter vans just behind them.

Chaton quickly sought out the head officer, whom she knew to be Sabrina’s father. He was easy enough to spot, mainly because he was heading her way.

“Just what the heck happened here?” Officer Roger asked immediately, forgoing any pleasantries. “First the monster attacks, then I get my arm broken, then a… a  _something_  flies over me and my arms gets  _un_ broken!” He waved his right arm in demonstration. “You look like someone who’d know what was going on. So as an officer of the law, I’m requesting that you explain the situation immediately.”

Chaton nearly glared at the man for his curt manner of speaking, but she merely looked back towards the others. “That boy there was…” She took a moment to word it correctly. “...unwillfully turned into the monster. His negative emotions got the better of him and a sort of… black butterfly-like creature took advantage of that. He says he can’t remember a thing, and I firmly believe his claim.” She turned back to Roger. “So, as a request from one of the- ...no, from  _both_  of the new superheroes of Paris, I am asking you to treat him as a victim of happenstance rather than the perpetrator.”

Roger frowned and rubbed his neck. “You say  _both_  superheroes, but where’s the other one?”

“Oh, um, she had some business to take care of. She’ll be back though, I’m certain of it.”

Sighing for longer than necessary, Roger ran a hand down his face and shook his head. “Well, seeing as that swarm of… ladybugs? How they  _fixed_  every single bit of damage the monster had caused, there… there really isn’t much to charge him on. Aside from trauma, but it isn’t like the thing went out of its way to hurt the innocents…”

“Please, sir, I know what had happened was serious, but Ivan is just as innocent as anyone else. He never meant to do it.”

“I know, I know!” Roger waved a hand to stop her. “You realize this is a very complicated situation, right?”

“So what will you do?” Alix suddenly piped up, having heard the conversation and walked up to them. “Charge him for getting mad? For going through everyday emotions?” She glared daggers at him, protective of her friend. “You know the police are on thin ice already, right?”

Roger merely grumbled and turned his head away. “I should write you a ticket for even trying to intimidate an officer of the law, but I know enough to realize that charging the kid would only bring about more trouble.” He signalled to a few of the paramedics in the vicinity, and they quickly made their way to Ivan with a shock blanket and a cup of water.

“Then you have everything under control?” Chaton asked, a smile forming on her lips.

“We’re still in the dark about so many things, so I’ll have to answer  _no_. But we’re doing the best we can.”

“R… Right.” Of course they were - they even understood less about the situation than  _she_  did, and she knew next to nothing herself! But they were handling it to the best of their ability, so she had to give credit where it was due. “Thank you very much for your hard work.”

“Hey, it’s our job,” he said, offering a shrug, and turned around to head back to his car.

Chaton turned to Alix. “And thank  _you_  for stepping in like that! I was so scared he was going to get Ivan in trouble…”

“Hey, this whole thing is weird,” Alix said with a shrug, though Chaton knew she was just as relieved. “I just did what I thought was right.”

The hero smiled in appreciation and thought that over. “That’s something we all should do, honestly. Fight for what’s right.” She turned towards the nearest street. “Anyway, I really should get going though. You guys stay safe, alright?”

Alix nodded happily. “Yeah, we will. Thanks, Miss Noir!”

“Just Chaton is fine,” she said with a giggle. She offered a wave to her friend, then to the others a little ways back. Alya perked up and was about to run forward with her phone, but Chaton was leaping up to the closest building before she got a chance.

Out of sight, took in a deep breath as everything that had just occurred processed. Her mouth slowly grew into a large, toothy grin, and she laughed and cheered on the spot.

“That was  _SO COOL!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little late but better late than never! Thanks for reading!


End file.
